


Letters From the Heart

by Benny_Alt



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29899140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benny_Alt/pseuds/Benny_Alt
Summary: A story focusing on Lily, Sarah Jane's autistic grandaughter from the Short Trip books.Originally published in the Defending Earth Charity anthology.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Letters From the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic some years back, not long after my own diagnosis, and tbh it's mostly me projecting through those characters. I also just, really wanted to write a nice story for Lily once I learnt of her existence and the not so great writing she had in that short story.

**To: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**From: Lily@smith.com**

**Subject Header: School Update**

Hello Grandma!

Once again, thank you so much for the noise-cancelling headphones! The big city is turning out to be even more full of noise and more tiring than I expected it to be, and you know how I get when there’s too much auditory input around me…I really do miss our little country house sometimes if I’m being honest. Not that I don’t like it here! School hasn’t started yet, so I had time to figure the town out and find which route to take to get to class (I’ve already done the journey multiple times, just to be sure I got the timing right).

Frankly, I’m glad things are settling down a bit for me, because all this change has been really stressful, but I guess I am doing just fine on my own now.

I am looking forward to meeting new people, though after spending so much time with you I can’t help but wonder how many random person on the street actually come from the stars.

Is a city as big as London such a hotspot for otherworldly encounters as your good old cottage? I guess I am not very likely to find that out. Which is probably for the better, I really do need to focus on my studies and would like to not be disturbed by an alien invasion. If only for a few months. That’s not too much to ask right? I do love alien cultures, but I would prefer avoiding the ones that want to conquer and destroy everything.

Anyway, I can’t wait to finally start art school! I’ll keep in touch regularly so don’t worry too much about me alright?

Love, 

Lily

**To: Lily@smith.com**

**From: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**Subject Header: Re: School Update**

I’m really glad to hear you are doing fine! I know you probably think I’m just being a fussy old grandma, but I do worry about you.

Did you already go to Bannerman Road? I’m sure Rani would really appreciate it if you visited. You could even say hi to Mr. Smith for me! Sadly, I’m afraid I am getting a bit too old to visit as regularly as before…

Over here, things haven’t changed much since you left. I’ve had a few old UNIT friends over last week, where we chatted about old times over tea and scones. You would have liked it. We spent the entire afternoon reminiscing about the invasions we helped foil, and the worlds and wonders I’ve seen. I know alien cultures are your special interest, so I asked Harry for some pictures and files which I will send you via the post (we can never be too careful after all!).

Speaking of your study of cultures, I have a few contacts in London that could be of interest to you. As I know you aren’t that fond of interviews and social meetings with strangers, I got you their email addresses, which I’ll be forwarding to you soon.

As for avoiding alien invasions…well, this is London after all, so I’m afraid you won’t have much luck on that side!

Sarah Jane

**To: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**From: Lily@smith.com**

**Subject Header: Yet another update!**

Hello Grandma!

School has finally started, and things have been quite hectic, which is why it took me so long to answer your mail.

You’ll be happy to hear that I visited 13 Bannerman Road! As always, Rani was very nice, and we looked through her collection of alien artefacts. This time, she showed me her drawer of mysterious crystals, and who knew there could be so many? It saddens me sometimes to think that I will never be able to know all there is to know about alien artefacts and life in the universe, but then also, it means I will never stop learning and seeing new marvels, and that’s a wonderful thought isn’t it?

Did you know that on the planet Nixos they have a crystal that lets you hear music when you hold it in your hands? And it’s not just any kind of music, but a tune that perfectly harmonises with your deepest feelings and helps you to be in touch with your emotions, and therefore each person will hear a unique and personal song. Apparently, the inhabitants of that world can perceive multiple dimensions at the same time and can very easily lose track of their sense of self. So, at the start of every cycle of their planet, they hold a big ceremony, where everyone wears the crystals for a day and sings alongside the music. It is said to be a very beautiful event, with each different tune merging together across the dimensions to form one coherent whole.

Isn’t that just fascinating? Rani told me she got this crystal from a wandering Nixan who visited Earth a few years ago. Apparently, there are a lot of alien tourists attracted by our little blue world, which does seem slightly weird to me, since after all they have the entirety of the universe to explore! Shining worlds and wonderful experiences! Why come here?

But then I suppose, what I see as a boring and bland world must seem full of wonders in the eyes of a visitor from outer space. It is all about context and point of views isn’t it?

I even took some time to talk with Mr. Smith, he says hi to you too! He gave me a lot of information about various planets and races, but I’ll go into more details in another mail. I don’t want to infodump too much on you (especially as I bet you already know all of this, but after all, it is a bit complicated to talk about alien cultures with your average person).

I am quite sad I couldn’t be there to see the UNIT gang again, it has been such a long time since I last saw them all! Thank Harry for me for the resources please, they have been a great addition to my growing files on alien cultures! It’s always nice to have clear visual information too, because that’s often the hardest to find. UNIT really did a good job with their cover-ups in the 70s/80s (such a good job we’re not even sure of the correct decade!).

I also really appreciate the contacts you sent, but I haven’t had the time to send them a quick mail. Besides, I do have exams soon so I have been focusing on my sketching for now. I should be fine, but after all, work comes first. I’ll always have the time to go asking questions later!

I’ll see you at Christmas! I hope there will be snow this year. I just long for the joy of running around in the cold again! And hopefully we might even see an appearance from a certain blue box… It has been a few years since he last visited after all.

Love,

Lily

**To: Lily@smith.com**

**From: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**Subject Header: Christmas news**

Oh, good to hear 13 Bannerman Road is as lively as ever! Jotting down information from Mr. Smith could really be useful for your files too, his bank of data is quite impressive.

Ask Rani if you can borrow some of the books still in the attic, I’m sure you’ll find something to your liking there. I somehow ended up with quite a large collection of tourism books for the space-faring traveller thanks to the Doctor. Now, a guide on how to avoid being captured and nearly killed every time would have been more appreciated, but I’m sure you’ll find them useful to learn about a variety of planets there. Or at least about the most interesting tourist attractions of various planets, which, well. It’s something at least?

About Christmas…I just got a message from Lauren and Will, they probably won’t make it this year either. I’m sorry, I know how much you wanted to see your parents again. Something about Will being held up with job matters in Peru? Lauren was really vague about that. I guess it will just be us then! And Sky of course. She’s currently very invested in her work but promised she would make time for us. Luke too, as always.

As for _him_ … well, who knows? He’s probably going to try being there, but as for him actually making it, that’s another story altogether. He can never get it right, you know.

Your exam week ends right before the holidays, right? You’ll tell me how it went when I see you, then! It will be nice to have some more company, it has been a bit lonely up here without you. I’m probably just getting old, I guess.

Well. Good luck on your exams, and I’m sure you’ll ace them, Lily.

See you soon!

Sarah Jane

**To: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**From: Lily@smith.com**

**Subject Header: January update**

Hello Grandma!

I know it’s been a little while since Christmas, but school has again become quite frantic and I must focus hard to stay afloat. Thank you once more for that wonderful and quiet party you organised! Even the snow was perfectly on time. I hope you did get some pictures of the Byronic Doctor that popped up too, because, well, it’s so hard to get a hold of him sometimes. Plus, he looked so happy playing in the snow with me! How I missed snow… 

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of it in London, which is really a shame. I always go back to childlike wonder when it’s snowing, and it’s the most wonderful feeling.

As for Mum and Dad, do they still send you all communications related to me? I still haven’t got a single email or package from them. They probably forgot I moved to London…or they just don’t think they can communicate directly with me, _as always_. Parents eh?

Anyway, unpleasantness aside, I did borrow a few books from Rani, as we discussed!

She even had a whole new shelf, full of books even you haven’t read. So, I hope you don’t mind if I go on a bit? There’s some wonderful planets out there and I would just love to actually go there one day. Even if I don’t think I would deal well with that change if I’m being honest. According to a guide, dating from 2615 (Do you realise that? That long in the future, it’s mind boggling to think there are still printed books! I guess some things never change after all), there are so many marvels of the Universe now they stopped numbering them and can’t even fit them all in one book! I would really love to see one of those guides from a non-human perspective however, as this one at least seems biased towards humanoid life. Getting some different point of views about the Universe and its wonders in the 27th century sound like a fascinating field of studies. I mean, I do like art but sometimes I would just love to go study some xeno-anthropology (I wonder if that’s even the correct name? Who knows!) and the art forms of alien cultures.

For example, on the planet Gwenda, there are some gardens known as the Drowning Gardens, which are named after the literal walls of water that rises from the ground, and which create a transparent maze throughout the gardens. It is said the specific attraction forces from both moons of Gwenda are the only reason the water is even able to float like that, and the gardens are influenced by the tides, changing every hour, little by little. Apparently, there’s even mirrors and glass panels set up to create a dizzying lighting effect during the nights. Visiting the gardens and getting lost in them is one of the most popular things to do on the planet. And of course, they couldn’t really be gardens without plants. 

And that’s the interesting thing! All the plants are actually set inside the walls of water (which is why the gardens are said to be drowning). And the thing is, those plants aren’t even specifically aquatic plants, and yet they still thrive. Sadly, the guide doesn’t specify exactly _why_ it happens, instead just saying “Go and admire this miracle for yourself!” But I think it probably has something to do with the property of the water mixing in with the rays of the moons. Just imagine how beautiful this must look! I wonder what sort of impact on pop culture that kind of places had. Sketching there would be amazing!

I mean, if we had that kind of stuff on earth, I bet there would be lots and lots of art produced around it don’t you think?

Love,

Lily

**To: Lily@smith.com**

**From: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**Subject Header: Request**

Lily, you know how I often get some unusual visitors? Well I need your help with one of them now. An escape pod crash-landed a few miles away from my village, and as it turns out there was a survivor. She told me she comes from Creex, and was on a vacation cruise when things went sour, and she had to leave the ship. Apparently her pod was defective and she was flown hundreds of miles off course. And now she needs help to get back home. 

You know me, of course I tried helping her. However, I’m afraid I just don’t have the resources needed here… 

And Rani is currently out of the country, so I can’t ask her to come and pick up Anya (that’s the name of our crash lander!). Considering she looks like a bright blue humanoid with webbed hands, she can’t just get the train to London.

Could you please do this for me and come pick her up in two weeks? I’m currently figuring something out with my neighbor, who has a truck and doesn’t ask too many questions. He should be able to bring Anya halfway there, but I would need you to go get her and bring her to Bannerman Road and to Mr. Smith.

I know this a lot to ask, but you see with UNIT being that military-oriented these days, I can’t just let an innocent woman fall in their hands. I will send you the exact details by mail, they should reach you in a few days. And please make sure Mr. Smith can whip up something to transport her back. 

Again, this might be a lot to ask but you are currently the only person available…

Also don’t worry Lily, all that information about aliens cultures you are sharing with me is definitely not annoying, and I love reading about your enthusiasm for them. 

And indeed, seeing the kind of art an entirely different culture can produce is one of the best experiences out there.

Sarah Jane

**To: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**From: Lily@smith.com**

**Subject Header: ???????**

Hello Grandma!

I’m sorry, you want me to do what??? Do you have the details on how I could actually get to a remote location a good hour away from London? And how exactly do you expect me to bring an actual _alien_ back with me? Sure I love rambling about alien cultures, but this is an actual living person we are talking about here. You know I can’t drive that well either! And…how exactly is Mr. Smith supposed to get her back home? And how am I supposed to keep her safe? I mean, London is a big city, it’s not that easy to just bring an actual blue woman in the middle of Bannerman Road, you know?

Look Grandma, I love you, I really do, but are you sure this is a good idea? Can’t you at least be more precise about what exactly you need me to do?? Because I did receive your letter with the “details” but frankly? You are just telling me where Anya will be so I can go pick her up, and you aren’t giving me any information on _how_ exactly I’m supposed to do that.

Love,

Lily

**To: Lily@smith.com**

**From: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**Subject Header: Request Details**

Oh Lily, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you like that. I know undefined situations scare you, and I wouldn’t ask this of you if I had another choice. But I really don’t and Anya needs help. 

Ok so…specific details right?

You already know where to pick Anya up, and I’m sorry I didn’t think of adding a clearer step by step of what you need to do. I know you have a small car, and even though you aren’t one for driving, could you please do this for me? It’d be an hour’s drive to get there, and an hour to get back, preferably during the evening or at night, because, well, we don’t want our friend to get noticed, right?

After that, I’d say drive straight to Bannerman Road, and get her to Mr. Smith. It should take you less than a day to deal with it all, and shouldn’t be too much of a hassle, right? If you do it at night, no one should notice her. Aliens at night at Bannerman Road are common enough after all.

Then, Mr. Smith should be able to cook up an easy teleportation device to get her back home.

Really, just one more week and you won’t have to worry about it. It is to help her out after all.

For me, please?

Sarah Jane

**To: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**From: Lily@smith.com**

**Subject Header: Update on the situation**

Hello Grandma!

Well. I met up with Anya, who is a very nice and understanding person thankfully. I got her safely to 13 Bannerman Road. We got lucky there, because the street itself was deserted, and I don’t think anyone noticed us as we drove past.

We got to Mr. Smith alright, and that’s when things started to go wrong. Because, see, it’s not that easy to just teleport her. Her home is a bit too far for that to be possible with the equipment lying around in the attic, so Mr. Smith contacted a rescue ship that was in a nearby solar system. They should be here in around two weeks. _Two weeks,_ Grandma! What am I supposed to do? I can’t leave her all alone in Bannerman Road, but frankly I’m not sure how feasible it is to take her to my flat for two weeks. I mean, she said she was fine with either, and understands why she has to stay out of sight (She really is a nice person isn’t she?) but I don’t want to be a bad host, and dealing with someone at home for two weeks sounds…difficult.

I think we’re just going to stay in Bannerman Road for the night, and I suppose I’ll have to figure things out as soon as possible… 

Are you sure Rani isn’t back for another month? I could really use some help right now. I am slightly panicking right now, and actually scratch the slightly, I’m entirely panicking at this point!

Love,

Lily

**To: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**From: Lily@smith.com**

**Subject Header: About that last mail**

Hello Grandma!

Sorry about that last mail, I was freaking out a bit. I just wanted to send out a quick update now that I’ve had a day to think it over and to calm down. Anya was very nice about it too, and surprisingly understanding. I tried explaining to her about autism and how it affected me, and she explained to me that it’s actually a very common thing amongst the universe. Did you know that? Apparently a lot of humanoid races have as much neurodivergence as humans! But it seems we’re still one of those being the weirder about actually accepting it… 

Isn’t it wonderful? We so often represent aliens' civilization as one, uniform mass of people, all speaking the same languages, having the same names for their own people…and yet we forget that on our little Earth we are incredibly varied, both physically and mentally, and that’s what makes us what we are, doesn’t it? Anya was telling me about how on Creex (well, she specified on the Northern Sector of Creex at least, she’s not very familiar with how they do things in the Southern or Inner Sectors apparently) neurodiversity amongst the population was actually celebrated and recognised as a part of everyday life. And it seems like many other planets and people think the same out there. I know people always try to insult autistic people by saying we are “aliens'' (like it’s a slur, compared to what we humans are doing to each other?) but if the whole of humanity was only a tiny bit closer to some of the civilisations out there, maybe we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in right now, now would we?

We really got talking after a while, and I explained to her that alien cultures have become one of my special interests growing up, so she just started reminiscing about her home and how life is on Creex. It’s fascinating! As I mentioned above, there are Sectors on the planet, three of them (though there used to be four). They each represent a good chunk of the planet and its inhabitants, and until a few centuries ago were often at war with each other. But then one of the sectors developed a deadly weapon (Anya couldn’t remember what kind of weapon, as she’s no historian and mostly recalling the bigger events of their history from her history classes, so there may be some inaccuracy there. Can’t just expect every inhabitant of a planet to know their whole history down to a T after all…).

It was such a deadly weapon that they ruined their own Sector during testing, and killed one fourth of the planet’s population. Faced with this tragedy, the remaining three Sectors had to combine forces to help the survivors and stop the effect of the weapon. They ended up creating quite a few treaties forbidding weapons research, and weapons as a whole, to prevent the tragedy being repeated. After all, it could very well wipe their entire civilisation out.

And this is why, a good five centuries later, Creex is a thriving interplanetary center, with three very culturally distinct but allied Sectors, one near the north pole, one near the south pole, and one actually inside the planet’s crust, as it offers a lot of caves and tunnels, and is partly hollow. And near the equator, there is a band of blackened soil that no living being can withstand. She tells me they call it the Dead Sector, and often take school kids there in secured tours to show them the danger of wars. It does sound a bit traumatising for young kids, but after all, knowing the mistakes of history and making sure not to repeat them is such an important thing, isn’t it?

It really sounds like a very interesting planet!

Anyway, by the time she was done giving me a rundown of Creexian history, I had calmed down entirely and was able to think clearly again. I’ve decided on taking Anya to my flat until the rescue ship makes it here. Mr. Smith even connected to my phone, so he will be able to send me a message as soon as they are close enough for her to teleport away. For now, Anya agreed to disguise herself for the ride again, and to stay low for the next week or so. She’s been through so much already, I do feel guilty for not being able to help her more…

Anyway, we are currently preparing to leave. Everything should be fine. And Anya has been a good friend so far, so I’m lucky for that…

Don’t worry about me, Grandma, I wrote that last email while I was having a bit of a breakdown but I’ll be ok. I’ll be ok.

Love,

Lily

**To: Lily@smith.com**

**From: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**Subject Header: I’m sorry**

Oh Lily. I’m sorry, I really didn’t think things could go wrong like that. If my age allowed me I would go straight to London to take care of things, but I’m not supposed to overexert myself apparently…doctor’s orders! (And for once, this an order from a doctor I have to follow, which I know is pretty uncharacteristic for me.)

So…I guess this once I really have to leave it in your hands. I know I’ve been asking a lot of you with this, Lily, but I guess it’s just that I trust you. You are a capable person, no matter what anyone else might think. No matter what you yourself might think.

And please, never stop sharing about the cultures that fascinate you, even after all these years there is so much yet for me to learn!

Take care of yourself, always, and please send me a message once Anya has made it safely back home. It’s your first big alien adventure on Earth without me after all, but you are right.

You’ll be fine, Lily. You are my granddaughter after all.

Love you, always.

Sarah Jane

**To: Blueboxgirl@smith.com**

**From: Lily@smith.com**

**Subject Header: Some closure**

Hello Grandma!

I’m sorry I worried you, and thank you so much for such a kind mail. This is why you are my favorite Grandma!

Cohabiting with Anya was actually pretty nice? You know how I am with changes and noises, so I was quite worried about that, but we got along very well, and she really respected my space and need for quiet. It was two long weeks, especially as she couldn’t go out much, and I had to buy twice as many groceries (while still keeping up with school work! Being a student and helping aliens at the same time is such hard work…).

Good thing my neighbors aren’t really nosy, however, so we managed to remain unnoticed.

After two weeks, I got a message from Mr. Smith telling us to come over the next day, as the ship was finally in orbit. I’ll be honest, I was glad to be getting my life back to normal but also… I’ll miss Anya. We got to be good friends in the end, which I guess I didn’t really expect, but I am glad for.

Thankfully we exchanged contact info, and Mr. Smith slightly edited my phone so we’d be able to stay in touch even when she’ll be in another galaxy!

So yes. A tiring but very interesting experience. And I found a friend thanks to it.

So…I guess thank you for trusting me? It means a lot to me, Grandma. And while it was a really stressful time, I am kinda hoping for more adventures, with or without aliens. I just hope I’d control it a bit more next time? Earth can be a pretty interesting place too, so even if there’s no aliens around I’ll figure out my own way to be as amazing as you and make you proud. Just you wait!

Love,

Lily


End file.
